


Love Is Blind

by DeathLife97



Series: But It Also Opens Your Eyes [1]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - Gender Changes, Alternate Universe - High School, Always Female Dean Winchester, Dean Winchester Has A Heart, F/F, F/M, Female Dean Winchester, M/M, Male Castiel/Female Dean Winchester, Mary Winchester is Adam Milligan's Parent, Past Alastair/Dean Winchester, Past Sexual Abuse, Slow Build
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-07-17
Updated: 2014-12-26
Packaged: 2017-12-20 12:53:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 20,452
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/887508
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DeathLife97/pseuds/DeathLife97
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>High School AU! The Novaks are new to Lawrence, Kansas, and when they move next door to the Winchesters, the Novak boys can’t help but be caught by the Winchester kids’ charm. Title based off the famous quote by William Shakespeare.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Carry On My Wayward Son

**Author's Note:**

> Check out part 2 for a playlist! :)

It sucks moving from one place to another place constantly. But when your parents are renowned professors of theology and philosophy, you get used to it. But why they would want to settle down in a small town like Lawrence, Kansas, after living in places like New York and D.C., I would never know.

As me, mom, dad, Jimmy, Michael, and Gabriel pulled up next to or new home, I wondered if this was _actually_ going to be home. It was a nice two-story house that looked like it had been written out of a fairytale. It was a nice shade of white, complete with an idyllic, light brown picket fence and beautiful wildflowers spread in what appeared to be a garden. I heard my mom squeal in delight, which woke Gabriel from his nap and made Michael cringe at the high-pitched volume our mother produced. Jimmy was asleep in the very back, thank the Lord God.

“Oh Chuck! I love it; it’s absolutely adorable!” my mom exclaimed. She then reached over to give our father a hug. He instantly returned it and gave me a small smile and mouthed “Thank you” over my mom’s shoulder to me. I nodded my head slightly and mouthed “You’re welcome” in return. When mom had mentioned that she wanted Gabriel and Michael to settle down for their final year of high school, dad had enlisted my help because I had inherited some of my mom’s tastes. Which is why I’m usually asked to help decide what to get mom for her birthday, Christmas, and Mother’s Day.

As the rest of my family got out to stretch after the thirteen-hour car ride, I reached behind us to wake up Jimmy. Jimmy was the baby of the family at only six years old. I was the second youngest at seventeen. Gabriel was next at eighteen years. Finally, Michael topped us all at nineteen. Despite the age differences, we were really close. Even though I sometimes wondered if Gabriel ever developed in the womb after he got his first orifice.

Then again, it’s a flaw of being a Novak: we have shells to protect ourselves from getting hurt. Michael acts like he has a rod up his... you know. Gabriel puts off the persona of a prankster, hence his nickname “The Trickster.” Jimmy, fortunately, didn’t develop like them; he’s pretty open to people. And me? I’m just the dork with the nerdy glasses who prefers to draw than make friends. Though in my defense it is much easier and more secure to have a sketchbook as your best friend when you move every couple of months.

As I woke Jimmy up and got him out of his seat (he may be six but he’s still tiny), I noticed someone sitting out on the front steps of the house next door to us, reading a thick leather-bound book. He had light brown hair that went to his collar bone, hazel eyes, and he looked about my age, maybe a little younger. Jimmy caught my eye and followed where I was looking. He squirmed in my arms and yelled “Hi!” to the stranger. I tried to shush Jimmy but it was too late. The stranger looked up from his book to see what made the noise and caught my eye. He immediately smiled and waved. I hesitantly waved back and was surprised when I saw him place a bookmark in the novel, set it down, and walk over to or family. This was the first time that I can remember that someone saw me and wanted to get to know me since I was about eleven years old.

He walked up to me and gave me a welcoming smile. I gave him a small, shy smile in return. He held out his hand in greeting and said, “Hi, welcome to the neighborhood. I’m Sam Winchester, and you are?”

I adjusted Jimmy on my hip and took his proffered hand in mine, saying in return, “Castiel Novak. And this,” pointing to my little rider, “is my brother Jimmy. Say hi to Sam, Jimmy.”

Jimmy stares at Sam, his big blue eyes filled with wonder at the giant. And it was true. I couldn’t tell with him sitting down, but Sam appeared to be a little over six feet tall. Sam smiled at Jimmy and offered him a hand. Jimmy looked at Sam’s hand and grabbed it, bringing the appendage closer to his face for inspection. Sam laughed at Jimmy’s open curiosity, and the sound drew the attention of the rest of my family.

Sam realized he was the center of attention and cleared his throat, but let Jimmy continue to study his hand. “Hi,” he repeated, “I’m your new neighbor, Sam Winchester.” He used his other hand and extended it towards my father.

He hesitated a moment before taking Sam’s hand and shaking it, saying, “I’m Chuck. This is my wife Becky,” putting an arm around Mom’s waist in acknowledgement to what he said, “my eldest Michael and Gabriel. You’ve already met my youngest, Castiel and Jimmy.”

Sam offered his hand to my mother and both of my siblings, though I noted he seemed to linger with his grasp of Gabriel’s hand. I looked at Mom and she acknowledged with a small nod that she saw it too. She then looked at Sam and asked, “So is it just you by yourself in that big house?”

Sam turned his head back to his house, which had a similar paint job to or won. “No my mom and dad are in there,” he said, “along with my older sister, my twin brother and my younger sister. If you want to meet them, I can go get them...?”

Mom smiled at his offer and replied, “If its no trouble to you and your family, that would be wonderful.”

Sam gave my mother a kind smile, saying, “No problem at all, Mrs. Novak.” He went to extract his hand from Jimmy’s grasp and got a whine of protest out of the youngest Novak. He chuckled and looked at Jimmy with eagerness in his eyes. “I’ll be right back, Jimmy. Then you can have my hand back. Deal?”

Jimmy looked saddened at the departure of his new best friend but still released Sam’s hand from his grip. “Promise?” he asked, eyes still wide with curiosity. Sam chuckled once more and nodded. He then held out his pinky finger for my baby brother to take in his own, which he did.

“I’ll be back in five,” Sam called over his shoulder as he jogged back to his house. I looked down at Jimmy, a small smile tugging at my lips. Then I remembered Gabriel’s reaction to Sam and looked in the direction of my brother. He was staring at the hand Sam had shaken as if it had electrocuted him. Judging by the blush that had overcome his face, I guess it had.

I turned my head back towards the noise coming from the Winchester residence. From there emerged Sam and what I assumed was the rest of his family. There was a man and a woman whom I guessed were Sam’s parents. There was also a teenage boy with dirty blonde hair, blue eyes and fell just short of six feet (Sam’s twin). Finally a little girl with a blonde halo and blue eyes similar to that of her mother, clutching to a stuffed Winnie the Pooh like it was the only thing keeping her alive. That’s when I noticed that the eldest was absent. Before I could question it any further, the little girl stopped right in front of me and looked into my eyes unflinchingly. She then gave me a big smile and said, “Hi! I’m Kate!”

Sam hurried over, picked Kate up, which made her squeal in delight, and placed her with one leg on either side of her neck. “Sorry ‘bout that. She really likes meeting new people since it doesn’t happen that often around here.”

The rest of his family came over and introduced themselves. “Hi, I’m Mary,” the woman said to us, “and this is my husband John...”

“Hi,” John said with a confident smile.

“...my other son, Adam...”

“Hey,” said Adam, a lot more shy than the rest of his family.

“...and my daughter is still working. But she should be back soon.”

We acknowledged this with a nod then I asked ”Where does she work?” while I handed Jimmy off to Sam, who put Kate back on the ground in order to let Jimmy continue to look at his gargantuan hand.

The mother, Mary, looked at me, her blue eyes amiable and replied, “At her uncle’s auto shop-slash-salvage yard.”

I nodded at her answer. “Does she wish to be a mechanic?”

Before anyone could answer, we all heard the purr of a car come around the corner, I turned around and felt my draw go slack. I may not be a car enthusiast like Gabriel, but I had been around him long enough to appreciate the classics. What pulled up in front of the Winchester house was a 1967 Chevy Impala with a sleek black paint job and a purr that could put cats to shame. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Sam smirk and say, “Well why don’t you ask her yourself,” just as the driver emerged from the car.


	2. Journeys End In Lovers Meeting

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title also based off a quote made by the great William Shakespeare is.

The driver of the car was, I assumed, the eldest Winchester kid. As she emerged, the first thing I noticed was that her cheeks were flushed, which made the freckles that dotted her face more noticeable. The second thing that I noticed was that I was right in assuming she wanted to be a mechanic. She was wearing a navy blue jumpsuit and black hi-tops. The name _Dean_ was embroidered on the left side of the jumpsuit by her shoulder. She had her dirty blonde hair pulled in a bun, with one strand hanging in front of the left side of her face stubbornly. When she closed the door to the Impala. she looked up and her eyes connected with myne. Her eyes were the color of the forest, a color I only associated with spring, with new life and new hope. She gave me a tiny smile and strode over to or little group.

She stopped in front of me and, still smiling slightly, raised her hand towards me and said, “Hi, Deanna Winchester, at your services.”

I didn’t hesitate for a moment before taking her hand and shaking it. “Castiel Novak.” I looked down at her name on the jumpsuit again before I reconnected or eyes once more. “Dean?”

She shrugged sheepishly. “No offense to my grandma, but _Deanna_ is just too girly for my tastes. Plus _Dean_ suits me a little better, don’t you think?”

I nodded in agreement before I realized our  hands were still connected, though it seemed like we were holding hands more than shaking them. I cleared my throat and gently released my hand from her’s.

Dean let it go instantly and turned to the rest of my family to be introduced. She nodded at each of them in turn and shook their hand, but for not as long as she did with me.

After the introductions were made the little girl, Kate, made a flying leap towards Dean. Fortunately Dean had excellent peripheral vision and managed to catch Kate as she jumped at her. She proceeded to spin Kate around and then set her on her hip, mirroring the way I was holding Jimmy a few minutes ago.

Dean looked towards my parents and asked, “If I don’t sound too invasive, what brings you here to a small town like Lawrence?”

My mother gave her a gentle smile and said, “Don’t worry, it’s not too invasive.” She looked at Michael and Gabriel before returning her gaze to Dean. “I just wanted my boys to finish off their senior year in one place.”

Dean nodded and said, “So you moved around a lot? What did you do for a living?”

Before either of my parents could answer, Mary gave her a reproachful “Deanna!”

Dean flinched at her mother’s tone. “What?” she asked, “I’m just curious. S’not my fault,” mumbling the last line.

Mom shook her head. “It’s quite alright, Mary. I don’t mind.” Looking at Dean she said, “I’m a professor of philosophy. My husband’s a professor also, but of theology.”

“Really?” Sam said, diverting his attention away from Jimmy for a moment. “Those are really interesting career choices.”

My father nodded his head in agreement and looked ready to end the family conversation when Kate suddenly asked, “Can you guys come over and play?”

Before anyone could answer, Dean said “Katie...” reproachfully and set her on the ground. Then she crouched down to Kate’s eye level and said, “They need to rest. They were in that car for God knows how long. They need to sleep on actual beds, with actual pillows, okay?”

Kate looked at the ground sullenly. “I’m sorry,” she said.

Mom shook her head, a small smile gracing her lips. “It’s okay sweetie. Maybe tomorrow you and Jimmy can have a playdate.” Both Jimmy and Kate smiled greatly at this. “But your sister is right. We need to finish unpacking the rest of or belongings, eat, then sleep.”

Kate grinned excitedly. “Okay!” she exclaimed before yawning. She then started humming a melody I was unfamiliar with, but one Dean seemed to know. She chuckled. “ _Hey Jude_ time, squirt?” Kate nodded in affirmation. “C’mon then.” She picked up Kate once more. She nodded at my family. “Sorry, my little squishy needs a nap. Hope to see all of you tomorrow.” She then gave me a small smile before walking back to her house, singing _Hey Jude_ to Kate, who was nodding off fast.

As I watched her go, I couldn’t help but be saddened by her departure. Then I heard a yawn and looked toward the direction of the sound. I saw Jimmy put his head in the crook of Sam’s neck and fall asleep instantly. I immediately tried to apologize to Sam but he just shook it off.

“Castiel its okay. Really, I don’t mind. Kinda reminds me of what Kate used to do to Dean. Still does.” He smiled at Jimmy before gently extracting him, taking extra precautions as to not jostle Jimmy. He then handed Jimmy back to me.

“My sis’ probably right; you should get your rest.” He hesitated before asking, “Do you need any help unpacking? I don’t mind helping; the Lady in the Lake can wait a moment.”

Before I could even begin to form a response, it was Gabriel who surprisingly stepped forward to answer. “It’s okay. Most everything was moved here last week. All we got’s a couple of duffle bags to haul in but that’s it. Thanks for the offer though, kiddo.” At the utterance of the last word,  a slight blush creeps over Sam’s cheeks. Then he nodded at Gabriel.

“Alright, but if you need anything you know where to find us.” He gives Gabriel a sort of conspiratorial wink before turning back towards his house. “See you guys tomorrow. Adam! You in the mood for a _Halo_ tourney?”

Adam, whom I had just now noticed was in an epic staring contest with Michael, turned his head towards the sound of his twin’s voice. “Only if you can handle defeat, Samantha!” He turned towards Michael and gave him a minute nod, which was returned, before running after Sam.

Mary watched her two sons, her love for them obvious. She turned to my mother. “After you’re finished settling in, do you wanna have dinner with us sometime?”

Mom gave Mary a nod. If its no problem to you, I think that would be wonderful.” Dad nodded his head in agreement.

John waved them off. “It’s no problem at all. And if you ever want a tour of Lawrence, all ya gotta do is knock.”

Dad nodded once more. “Thanks, John.”

“Well, we should probably leave you to it. Have a good evening,” said Mary.

“You too,” Mom replied.

After John and Mary entered their house, my mom clapped her hands together and grinned. “I like them,” she announced before turning to Gabriel and Michael. “And I assume you like them too?”

Never before, in my entire life, had I seen either of my older brothers blush as they did then. Their faces were cherry red with embarrassment and something else I would prefer not to think about.

My mom smirked before heading towards our new house. “C’mon, my little men. Mama needs her sleep, and so do you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So right now I'm working on Chapter 3. And I wanna apologize in advance if I keep switching from past to present tense. If it annoys you to hell, tell me where I made the errors, and I'll try to fix them immediately. Have a good day!


	3. Highway To Hell

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter title has been inspired by the song Highway to Hell by AC/DC.

I rubbed my eyes, my contacts irritating them and me. Unfortunately, my glasses had broken when me and Jimmy were playing. And my new ones weren't coming in for two more days.

I sighed once more, fully prepared to take them out of my eyes and go to bed (though I wasn't sleepy) when I could've sworn I heard someone shout  _Castiel!_  I looked up. All of my family had fallen asleep at least half an hour ago.  _Castiel!_  I look around my room.  _Open your window!_  I turn around to see Dean Winchester smiling maniacally at me. I open my window and give her a questioning look. The sun hadn't set yet, so I knew she could see my face.

"Took you long enough. I was beginning to think you'd gone deaf." She paused a moment. "And judging by the expression on your face, you weren't expecting this, were you?"

I said back to her, "No." She gave me a shocked look, and I explained further. "We move around alot, so I don't exactly have people lining up to my best friend. In fact, this is my best friend," I said, holding up my sketchbook.

This got a laugh out of her. "Nice," she said, "What's her name? Or his name?"

I gave Dean a puzzled look. "Why would I name my sketchbook?"

She rolled her eyes and said, "Well I named mine." She then held up a notebook. "Though I write, My drawing skills are limited. I can draw landscapes, but my people skills suck." Dean made a face at her last comment before asking, "What do you draw?"

I shrugged. "Anything and everything, I guess."

Dean smirked before saying, "Hope you don't have nude pictures of you girlfriend in there."

I couldn't help the snort that escaped my throat. "Did you not hear what I just said? If I don't have any friends, what makes you think I'm gonna have a girlfriend?" I sigh, which piques her curiosity. I say, "I wish to have someone in my life whom I love like Darcy loves Elizabeth, but most girls I meet are either shallow and vain or on my team." I get a laugh out of her at this, and that spurs me to continue. "So what about you? Boyfriend? Girlfriend?"

Her laughter stops immediately, and I wish I could take back my questions. "I have an ex-boyfriend. It was more of a 'friends with benefits' sort of thing." At my scandalized look, she said, "Don't worry, Mr. Religion, I'm still a virgin waiting to be sacrificed like livestock in order to have an excellent harvest season." She paused to study my face for a moment, then asked me, "You wanna go for a walk?"

I tilted my head to the side, confused. "You just met me. How do you know I'm not some sort of psychotic maniac?"

She smiles at this. "Aren't all the best people psychotics maniacs?"

I give her a small smile in return." Actually, 94% of psychotics think they're perfectly sane, so I guess we have to ask ourselves,  _What is sane?_ " I paused a moment to collect my thoughts. "Where would we walk to?"

Dean shrugged her shoulders at my question. "There's a park a few blocks from here. You wanna go there?" At my nod, she grins ecstatically and says, "Okay, meet me out front in five minutes." She then disappeared from view.

I crept downstairs quietly as not to disturb my family, and received quite a shock when I saw Gabriel sitting in or new living room watching _The Sixth Sense_  on our television. He looked up at me and smirked. "Now what do we have here? Cassie, are you sneaking out without telling Mom and Dad?"

I flinched at his implications. "It's nothing like that, Gabriel. Dean wants to walk to the park to talk."

This piqued his interest even more, enough for him to actually pause the movie. "Sam's older sister?" At my nod, he said, "Can you do me a favor? Ask her which way Sam swings, please? And I know what you're thinking, but this isn't some fling. I actually want something concrete with Sam. I think Michael wants the same thing with Adam too. Just please, Castiel, for us?"

At the earnest look on his face, and remembering him earlier when he interacted with Sam, I sighed and said, "Fine."

Gabriel smiled gratefully. "Thanks, little brother. I owe you one."

"Good," I said, "then cover for me if Mom and Dad wake up."

Gabriel nodded and said, "Aye aye, mon capitan." He even saluted me with his signature Trickster grin plastered across his face.

I roll my eyes at his as I close the front door behind me and let the humid air wash over my face. I look at the house next door and decide to wait on the sidewalk for Dean to come outside.

When she came outside a few minutes later, I noticed that almost everything she was wearing had some grease on it. Her blue jeans shorts had smudges here and there, along with black stains on what I now saw were once grey Chuck Taylors. The only article of clothing that remained untouched by the splatter pattern was her white t-shirt with the  _Batman_  logo on it. I had to admit she did look pretty.

"Ready?" Dean asked me as she walked up to me, hands stuffed in her front pockets.

I nodded and I followed her as she headed down toward the bus stop.

We walked in a comfortable silence. She then began to sing a song I was unfamiliar with into the balmy dusk air.

_Ah, look at all the lonely people_

_Ah, look at all the lonely people_

_Eleanor Rigby, picks up the rice_

_In the church where a wedding has been_

_Lives in a dream_

_Waits at the window, wearing the face_

_That she keeps in a jar by the door_

_Who is it for?_

I stared as she sung. She had an amazing voice, one I felt I could wrap myself in and be safe from all the pressures of life. As Dean continued to sing the rest of the song, I continued to wonder why she would want to hang out with a dork like me. I craved to ask her, but once she finished the song, I knew I couldn't ask her. At least, not at the moment anyway. There would hopefully be time in the future to do that. Right now, I wished to just be in her company without either of us questioning what we were doing in the first place. For the first time in my entire life, I wanted to risk my heart. I couldn't explain why I would risk everything I was for one person, but I liked it.

We once more fell into comfortable silence. When we arrived at the park, Dean grabbed my hand and led me towards the swing set. I was surprised at the heat that seeped through my skin from Dean's simple touch. I felt my heart skip a beat and my stomach fill with butterflies as I watched her sit on the swing set; watched as the breeze picked up her bang and whisk it around her face. She let a small smile cross her lips. Dean looked over at me, raising an eyebrow/ "Sit?" she asked, evergreen eyes hopeful.

I complied, sitting on the bench. I must have seemed nervous, because she mock-punched me in the arm, saying, "Lighten up. I'm not going to go all Freddy Krueger on you, Cas."

I froze. "What did you just call me?" I asked.

Immediately her expression became that of alarm. "I'm sorry," she said, holding her hands up in surrender. "I thought you would be okay with a nickname, since  _Castiel_  is a mouthful, and  _Cas_  is generic—"

"Dean!" Instantly her tirade comes to a halt. "It's not that. It's just I've never had a nickname before... At least, one that I like."

Dean let out a breath of relief at that. "Why, what horrid nickname do you possess?"

I replied with " _Cassie_ ," saying it as if I was swallowing something vile.

She cringed and then gave me a sympathetic smile. She suddenly got up from her seat and kneeled in front of me. "Castiel whatever-your-middle-name-is Novak, would you do me the honor of letting me give you a shitload of nicknames that don't involve  _Cassie_?"

I stared at Dean, slightly confused for a moment. Then I realized that this was a  _big friendship gesture_  instead of a  _romantic_  one. I knew I would say yes, but before I could, I had to point something out to her. "Abraham," I said.

She cants her head to the side, and in that moment I understand why Gabriel says I look like a puppy when I do that. "What?" Dean says.

"My middle name is Abraham," I said again. This gets her laughing, though I don't understand why.

"Of course it is," she says as she gets off the ground. "You're named after the Angel of Thursday, so it makes sense that your middle name is that of the father of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam."

I lean my head to the side. "How do you know that?"

Dean scoffs and rolls her eyes at me. "I payed  _some_ attention in Bible School. Plus I admire Abraham for his faith in God giving him a son." She shrugs her shoulders. "I don't have that.

And its at this point she loses me. How could someone lack faith? But before I can question her as to why, she pulls a Sharpie from her back pocket and sits back down on the swing. Dean looks at me out of the corner of her eye and smiles like Gabriel does when he's concocted the perfect prank. Oh crap. "Gimme your arm." When I hesitate to comply, she raises an eyebrow at me. "Trust me?"

I sigh before I nod my consent, Dean pulls my arm closer and raises the sleeve of my shirt a little until my forearm is exposed. She then writes  **Caspocalypse**  across my wrist. I raise an eyebrow at her. "Caspocalypse?" I question. Maybe we were both wrong. Maybe she was psychotic. At least a sociopath for sure. "Can I ask you a question?" I want to see if I can learn more about Dean. Again, risking a lot for a complete stranger. But there was something...  _different_  about her.

Dean looks up from her penmanship and asks, "One more please?" I nod again. She looks at me through her lashes, and with the way the twilight sun was hitting her, I knew I would always remember this moment for as long as I lived. I don't notice that she has written another nickname on my arm until Dean says, "Well?"

I look down at my forearm once more, only this time with the word  **Casablanca**  written there. This gets a laugh to escape my lips. "I'll take this one.  _Casablanca_  is my favorite movie."

Dean smiles brightly at this. "No one appreciates the black and white anymore," she scoffs. She looks at me and our eyes connect. I can't pull away even if I wanted to. I notice that, with the lighting, that her eyes were the color of freshly mowed grass in the summertime. I forgot about how I wanted to get to know her better until Dean prompted me with "Your question?"

I look away, trying to remember what I wanted to ask her. Then it hit me like a ton of bricks. "Oh!" I exclaimed. "My question! Yes! Why don't you have any faith?"

Her eyes go dark. "How does God claim to love everybody but the homosexuals?" she asks angrily. I reel back slightly. I had heard all the propaganda against homosexuals but I am utterly indifferent to sexual orientation. Homophobia was the bi-product of humanity, not God Himself.

I state my thoughts to Dean, who shrugs her shoulders noncomically. "Try telling that to the church boys at my school who tagged Sam and Adam's lockers last year."

I remembered what Gabriel had asked me to do. "Your brothers are gay?"

"Adam's bisexual," Dean says, staring off into the distant sunset, "But yeah, they are. And thank you."

I incline my head to the side in confusion. "For what?" I ask.

She finally turns to look at my face. "For not being a homophobic douchebag with his head up his ass," she answers with a small smile kissing her lips.

I let a smile grace my lips as well. "You are welcome," I reply.

After that we fall into a comfortable silence. A breeze caught her bang again, making me chuckle. "So why me?" I ask Dean.

She turns to me, staring me straight in the eyes and sincerely says, "Why not you?" She purses her lips. "Remember what I mentioned about the ex-boyfriend?" I nod and she chuckles darkly. "You're the exact opposite of that goddamn motherfuckin' son-of-a-bitch."

I tilt my head. "How do you know?"

Dean turns back towards the setting sun. "Your eyes." She doesn't elaborate, and I don't ask. I figure there will be plenty of time some other day to inquire. "So what's your favorite school subject?"

I answered with "Art," and the conversation continued to flow smoothly after that. We talked about anything and everything. School, family, favorite books, movies, music. We also talked about all the places I've been and the things I had seen. We also talked of God and Satan; Heaven and Hell; angels and demons. I had to laugh when she said she was the devil incarnate.

"You are not, I assure you," I said.

She looks me in the eye and says, "How do you know?"

I purse my lips to keep myself from falling off the swing set in laughter. "Your eyes."

This doesn't stop her, and soon we're both rolling around on the safety foam meant to replace the concrete in belly-clutching mirth. After we are able to catch or breaths, we realize what time it is. "I should probably get you home shouldn't I?" Dean asks.

I nod. "Probably, considering my parents don't know and I'm having Gabriel cover for me."

This gets, as Dean dubs it, the  _eyebrow of doom_  to occur on her face. "Really? Hope your parents don't ground you. If you do, find some way to tell me and I'll take the blame," she says as we get up from the ground and begin our trek back home.

I shake my head. "I highly doubt it. This is the first time doing something without telling them first. Plus my mom likes your family, so I don't think either of us will get into any trouble."

Dean looked at me out of the corner of her eye. "At least you're optimistic."

I smile slightly. "Someone has to be."

I get a bark of laughter to leave Dean's mouth. "Okay, Mr. Snark," she says, "I've got another nickname for you:  **Casassy**."

I shake my head, though I don't realize until I've said "God help me" that my mouth has unconsciously turned upwards. It's all too soon that we arrive back home.

"Well that was fun," Dean said. "Hope we can do it again sometime. Though I have a different idea of  _where_."

I cant my head to the side. "What do you have in mind?" I ask calmly, even though on the inside, I felt like the Energizer bunny.  _There's gonna be a next time!_  I thought excitedly.

She grin, like she feels the same way I do. "There's this restaurant called  _The Roadhouse_. It's owned by my best friend's Uncle Ash." She hesitated before continuing. "Think maybe we could have a family get-together there? From what you've told me, I could use Gabriel as an ally for April Fool's Day."

I shake my head. "First: bad idea. Second: I think my mom would love to do that." I also hesitate before saying, "Goodnight, Dean," as I head up towards the front door.

"Cas, wait!" Dean calls. I turn around. "I have one more question for you: are Gabriel and Michael gay?"

I was taken aback by the sudden question, but I answer it nonetheless. "Michael has never shown any romantic interest in anyone and, like your brother Adam, Gabriel is bisexual." I tilt my head. "Why do you ask?"

Dean gives me an enigmatic smile. "I'll tell you later, okay?" Before I could even think of nodding, she's running towards her front door shouting "Sweet dreams Cas!" over her shoulder before going into the sanctuary of her house.

I shake my head in wonder as I got to my own door and stepped through the threshold. I went into the living room to check on Gabriel.

When I got into the living room, the season 1 finale for  _Sherlock_  was just wrapping up. Gabriel really loved British drama, especially when the fandom was involved. I never fully grasped the enjoyment of "shipping" two fictional characters, but I guess as long as I didn't insult _Sherlock_ , I wouldn't get hurt. Gabriel turned toward the sound, and when he noticed it was me, a shit-eating grin covered his face. "So Cassie, how was your little date with Dean-o?" he asks.

A furious blush spread across my face. "It wasn't a date."  _But is it bad that I kind of wish it was?_

Gabriel looked like he didn't believe me for a minute, but fortunately he let it slide.

As I turned towards the stairs, Gabriel called out, "So what about Sam and Adam?"

I opened my mouth to answer, when an evil thought crosses my mind. I smirk and pretend not to hear him as I climb the stairs to my bedroom. I hear Gabriel scramble from his seat to catch up with me. "Castiel!" he whispers, remembering the rest of or family is asleep and not the type of people you wish to wake up.

I still claim not to hear him until I get to my bedroom. Before I have the chance to enter though, I feel Gabriel grab ahold of my elbow and spin me around to face him. At six foot even, I had a few inches on Gabriel, who was only five foot five inches. Still, he was intimidating as hell to look at.

I pause for a moment.  _Perhaps Dean's influence is starting early_ , I think before I'm pulled back to the present by honey-gold orbs glaring at me full-force.

"Castiel, please," I swear I hear Gabriel  _begging_ , "is there any chance for me and Mikey?"

I stare at him for about five more seconds before I finally cave. I give him a small smile and embrace him. Gabriel stands stock still for a few seconds before returning it. I lean down to whisper in his ear, "Do not fear, brother. But I'd suggest becoming friends with Sam first before being so bold enough to ask him out on a date."

Before Gabriel could even begin to form a response, I disentangle myself from our hug, shut the door to my bedroom with him still standing there gaping at me, change out of my clothes into my pajama bottoms, climb into bed, and fall asleep to the sound of Dean's laughter running through my head like a lullaby.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally! It took forever to type this! So I decided to be nice to Gabriel and give him a few extra inches than what he probably has, idk. Anyway, I'm kinda sorta having writer's block right now, ugh! Hopefully it will pass soon.
> 
> And the song Dean sings is called "Eleanor Rigby" by the Beatles.


	4. Pretty Woman

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, that took forever to update. I'm sorry about that guys. Life's a bitch, ya know? Anyway, I'm glad I got this up before my birthday, so this is progress. One thing I've learned from this is not to post a story until you've completed it. That said, after I finish this, I may not post for a while. And I have the rest of the chapters sketched, I just need to write them down.
> 
> Thank you, my loyal followers. This is for you.

Two weeks passed by quickly. After our first initial outing (Gabriel kept teasing me by calling a  _date_ , which made me vehemently blush every time), Dean and I began to hang out practically every day. Or respective brothers joined us whenever they wanted to, but for the most part, it was just me and Dean.

I liked it like this, though. As much as Sam and Adam have grown on me, Kate especially, I still prefer the comfort and warmth that came from being with Dean. I guess having a real friend for the first time in a long time did that to you.

I was broken from my trance-like state at my mother yelling, "Castiel, hurry up! We need to leave soon for The Roadhouse." I grinned and finished getting dressed quickly. I was excited like Mom, but for different reasons. I enjoyed any time I could spend time with Dean and/or her siblings. Mom was excited because Dean had mentioned to her that her friends and fellow classmates usually frequented the place. In other words, Mom was hoping I would make more connections like I had with Dean.

As much as I hated to disappoint her, I already knew that I would never make a connection as strong as the one I have with Dean.

I opened the door to my bedroom and ran out quickly. I then flew down the staircase and into the living room to wait for the rest of my family to hurry up. I waited impatiently for my brothers to finish dressing and whatever else Michael and Gabriel happened to be doing to get ready to see their respective crushes.

They had also made friends with Dean and her siblings, but the three of us had a Winchester we liked to spend time with. I liked to spend time with Dean; Gabriel passed his minutes with Sam; Michael and Adam talked for hours on end.

Or families just seemed to  _connect_. After their first initial playdate the day after we had officially moved in, Kate and Jimmy had been nearly inseparable. It helped that they not only got to play with each other, but with Kate's Winnie the Pooh (Dean had explained that she had gotten him for Kate about a month after she was born, and Kate hadn't let him go since) and Jimmy's Eeyore (I told her that Gabriel gave the toy to Jimmy when he turned four, and he too refused to give him up at any time as well).

Even our parents got along exceptionally well, especially since Dean said she and her siblings could take their "little brats" (her words not mine) off their hands for a few hours for "grown-up talk" with John and Mary.

I giggled as I remembered Gabriel's indignant "Hey!" and Michael's "bitchface" (Dean explained that she named all of Sam's expressions "bitchfaces" because her term of endearment for him was apparently "bitch"). Jimmy and I didn't mind though. While Gabriel and Michael were the oldest, Jimmy and I instinctively knew better than to argue with a female on such matters. We had seen Dad lose too many arguments with Mom to know.

It's not that Mom and Dad fought  _a lot_. Every couple has their fair share of arguments; I don't know of  _any_  who haven't. I would be worried if they didn't.

I nearly had a start when I felt my cell phone vibrate in my pocket to the beat of  _The Eye of the Tiger_. I smiled as I recalled nearly dying of asphyxiation from laughing so hard when Dean danced to it in the Impala. Sam, Gabriel, Adam, Michael and I had all been sitting out on the Winchester's front lawn discussing the credibility of J.J. Abrams new  _Star Trek_  movies, when Dean had pulled up in the Impala. She then killed the engine, winked at me (while looking like she was trying, and failing, to suppress her giggles), then had laid down in the front seat.

I had turned to Adam and Sam, and had given them a look that conveyed quite clearly  _What is your sister up to, and should I be scared?_  They had shrugged their shoulders simultaneously when we saw Dean pump her fists in the air to the first beats of the song.

It all went downhill from that point as Dean then climbed out of the window of the driver's side and made hand gestures that related to the lyrics playing from the speakers of her baby (Dean also explained to me that her car was a "she," since Captain Kirk called the  _Enterprise_  "she" in  _Star Trek_.) She also had had the strangest expressions on her face, breaking the last of our composure. Michael, Adam, Sam and I all had fallen back on the grass in hysteric mirth. It wasn't until I had my breathing under control that I noticed that Gabriel was not only barely biting back his laughter, but had recorded the entire thing. Sam and Adam had whooped for their sister after her little impromptu performance was finished.

I came back to the present as I checked my phone for the new text message from Dean:  **Cas where r u guys?! Sammy & addy r gettin very anxious. Think tonite will b the nite?**

I roll my eyes at the text. We had discussed our brothers' "eye-fucking" and had agreed to try and bring them together, since her's are stubborn and mine are clueless to the point of stupidity.

I quickly reply with  **I don't know. But, if it makes you feel better, my brothers are nervous as well.**

I got an immediate response:  **Thats awesome! & Cas, y do u nevr use abbrs.?**

Me:  **Because I do not wish to butcher the English language.**

Dean:  **Smartass**

Me:  **Heathen.**

Dean:  **Always ;)**

I laugh aloud as Gabriel and Michael  _finally_  come down the stairs. I give a low whistle at the outfits (and is that hair gel?!) that my brothers chose for the evening. Michael has chosen dark blue jeans and a green polo to brighten his eyes. A good look for going to an eatery such as the Roadhouse. Gabriel, on the other hand, wore something one would wear to a den of iniquity: black skinny jeans., and a skin-tight, semi-translucent white t-shirt that men commonly wear underneath their normal shirts. I quickly lift my phone, take a picture and send it to Dean with the message  **SOS!**  attached to it.

As Gabriel opens his mouth to ask what I was doing, we all hear an extremely loud  **"SON OF A BITCH!"**  from the house next to ours. It is deadly silent after the outburst for about thirty seconds before we hear insistent knocking at the front door.

Michael opens the door to a very annoyed-looking Dean Winchester. "Where is that dumbass Trickster?" she asks as she stalks through the door. Her eyes zero in on Gabriel and puts her hands on her hips, the epitome of exasperation.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Gabriel begins to reply, but upon realizing it was a rhetorical question, promptly snaps his mouth shut. Dean smirked and said, "Thought so." Turning to me, she asked "Can you show me to his closet, please?" I comply immediately, heading up the stairs with Dean and Gabriel right behind me. Before we reach the top of the stairs, Dean shouts over her shoulder, "Good choice Michael!"

At the second floor I go straight down the hall until I see a sign that says  _Trickster's Lair_  on the front of it. I moved out of the way as Dean makes a beeline for Gabriel's closet. When she opened his closet, she let out a low whistle. "Wowza," Dean said as she saw all the... varieties that lay in Gabriel's closet. She gave it a quick once-over, then grabbed an olive-green jacket and a chocolate-colored t-shirt. "Here," she said, shoving the articles of clothing into Gabriel's arms, "try these on. It oughta work."

Gabriel, now smirking at the choices that were in his arms, said, "Aw Dean-o, what's the matter with what I have on?"

Dean rolled her eyes dramatically and replied, "'Cause we're going to a diner, not a cheap whore house."

I try to suppress a giggle, but I can tell I failed greatly by the surprised look on my brother's face. Dean smirks at Gabriel and says, "See? Cas agrees with me." She then begins to walk out the door. "Besides, I have no urge to see my brother jump you in a crowded restaurant."

"What?!" Gabriel exclaims. I take this as my opportunity to escape, shutting the door behind me, Gabriel's dumbstruck expression still burned on my retinas.

Dean takes my wrist and drags me down the stairs into the living room. Once there she lets go, turns around and, with an exasperated look, asks, "How the hell are you, Michael and Jimmy related to him?"

I shrug. "Nobody knows," I say. "I think he was dropped on his head multiple times as a toddler."

Dean gives me a small smile. "How is it that no one wanted to be your friend? Cas, you're fucking awesome!"

I blush vehemently at her praise, and before I can even think of a response, I hear Gabriel burst through his bedroom door and gallop (yes, gallop) down the stairs, the shirt and jacket Dean picked for him in place on his body. The green of the jacket accentuates the color of his eyes, making them look even more like liquid gold than they normally are.

Dean gave Gabriel, what I can only accurately describe as, "a shit-eating grin."

"You see? Now, that wasn't so bad was it?"

Gabriel opened his mouth to respond, But Dean cuts him off a "Never mind, I don't want to hear!" She then blinked and said, "Oh," looking as if she just remembered something important. "MICHAEL!" Dean yelled.

"You don't need to shout; I was just in the kitchen," Michael replied, walking into the living room holding a bottle of water.

Dean rolled her eyes at him. "Anyway, now that you two are in the same room, she said, indicating to Michael and Gabriel, "we need to talk."

Michael looks puzzled. Gabriel, on the other hand, looked like he was ready to bolt.

She smirked at the expressions of their faces and gestured for them to sit on the couch, and me on the loveseat opposite them.

Dean remained standing, though. She turned to Michael and Gabriel and said, "I hope you realize that I'm not a total idiot." Michael sat up straighter, opening his mouth to comment, Dean held up her hand, halting him. "Now, I've seen the way you two look at my baby brothers. I can't say I'm completely surprised, with the way they look at you... I see that same look in your eyes. All I can ask is this: treat Sam and Adam with the same respect you would give Cas and Jimmy. Because if you break my brothers' hearts, as their big sister, it is my right and duty to break your faces. Okay?"

Gabriel and Michael nodded in agreement. Dean smiled. "Good, now that we've got that established, I have to go back and check on my brothers whom, for your information, are just as anxious to see you as you are them."

My brothers look surprised by this. Dean turned to me and said, "Wow. 'Clueless to the point of stupidity' is very accurate, you in a few."

I nod. "Goodbye, Dean."

After she leaves, Jimmy comes bounding down the stairs, looking very excited to be going out. Mom and Dad came down the stairs soon after. Mom took stock of Michael and Gabriel's still-shocked faces, and started giggling hysterically, to which I joined in after her outburst broke through their reverie and they got twin expressions of indignation.

Soon after that we were all packed in the car and following behind the Impala that was becoming more and more familiar each day.

As my family and I followed the Winchesters to the Roadhouse, my parents and older brothers made conversation while Jimmy read his  _Magic Tree House_  story and I stared out the window. I noticed that, the closer we got to the Roadhouse, the more landscape there was to look at. I didn't realize we were leaving town until we passed a sign that said  **You are now leaving Lawrence** and a sign underneath that said  **Roadhouse - 1 mile**.

A few minutes later we had reached the Roadhouse. As I took in the old building, I could understand Dean's appeal for it. For one thing, it looked big enough to house all of Lawrence's population. It looked like it had been standing here for roughly a hundred years, given the style in which it was built. I don't know how long I stared at the building until I was startled by a rap on my window. Dean was blocking my view of the Roadhouse, her hands on her hips and a smirk upon her lips. She backed up as I opened the car door. As soon as I was clear of the door, Dean used her hip to close it and said, "I told you it would be awesome."

I reward her with a small smile and say, "Yes. Yes you did."

Dean nodded her head towards the "joint," as the Roadhouse was apparently nicknamed. "C'mon, I'll introduce you to the best of Lawrence."

I cant my head to the side. "I thought the band who wrote, and I quote, 'the best fucking song since  _Hey Jude_ ' was Kansas?"

Dean just stared at me, slack-jawed. She then burst out laughing. I blushed when she finally caught her breath and came over to hug me. "Yeah," she said into my ear, "you're the best of the best, Cas. I think I'm finally starting to believe in your phony-baloney God."

I return her gesture, wrapping my arms around her waist. "Why?" I exhale, curious as always to the inner working of Deanna Winchester.

I could  _feel_  her smile, even though I could not see or literally feel it. "Because," she responded, "He created you, didn't He?"

I blush even more, not just because of her answer, but because I hear someone clearing their throat somewhere near us.

"Well..." I hear Adam say, "I don't know about everyone else, but I'm starving."

"Agreed," Dean said, extracting herself from our embrace. She didn't seem awkward as I felt, but I assumed it was because she embraced people on a regular basis. Me, on the other hand... I had never hugged anyone outside my family before now. It felt nice, and now I understood why people liked to do it so much in the movies.

Dean gave me a small smile, as if she had just read my thoughts. "C'mon Casassy. Let's introduce you to the rest of the insane asylum."

I snort. "Dean, I highly doubt that anyone in the Roadhouse is crazier than you."

Adam starts laughing, Kate giggles, both John and Mary snort, and Sam claps me on the shoulder saying, "Oh, Cas. You really shouldn't have said that. Or thought that, now that I think about it."

I cant my head to the side. Sam just shakes his. "Just wait and see." He then grabs Gabriel's hand, interlocking their fingers and I notice Adam doing the same thing with Michael. My older brothers blush simultaneously, but they looked very happy. I can't help but smile slightly.

"Well," I hear Dean say. I turn to see her smirking, but her eyes are bright with happiness for her brothers. "I say we get or crazy on." She then does a perfect imitation of Gabriel's eyebrow-waggle, turns around and opens the double door entrance.

When we enter the Roadhouse, its already crowded, surprising considering how huge the place is. Its mostly filled with teenagers and adults my parent's age, but there were also a few elderly fork and children here as well.

I hear laughter from all around, and the happiness of all the patrons seemed to radiate from every corner of the Roadhouse. Kate and Jimmy ran off after they found a group of children sitting and playing together. Not five seconds after that, a man with a bizarre haircut walked up and and hugged Dean, who was still standing close to me upon entering the large diner.

"Hey, Dean," Mystery Man said. He finally noticed me and gave me a wide grin. It took my entire being not to grab Dean and take a step back, even though I knew that she knew this man. "Whose your little friend?"

Dean punched him lightly in the arm. "Hey, I haven't been 'little' since Summer 2011." She then puts an arm around my shoulders. "This is Castiel aka Cas. Cas, this is Ash, Jo's uncle and owner of this fine establishment."

As soon as I put a name to the face, I began to relax. I had heard nothing but good things about Ash from Dean. Though she did warn me not to insult his hair style, which I now remembered was called a "mullet." I held out my hand to Ash, which he took and we shook in greeting. "Hello, Ash. Dean has told me nothing but good things about you."

Ash nods and releases his hold on my hand, which I return to my side. "Same. Dean kept going on and on about how awesome you are."

Dean groaned and put her head in the hand that wasn't currently resting on my shoulder. "I hope you realize I have two parents to embarrass me. I don't need you to do it too."

Ash shrugs, then hooks his thumb over his shoulder in the direction of a table full of teenagers. "Jo's been asking when you'll be here. She's dying to meet the guy who has, and I quote, 'stolen my best friend and left me alone to die'."

Dean snorts, her arm shifting from my shoulders back to her own side. I fight the sudden chill that crawls across my back at the lack of Dean's warmth. "Bullshit," Dean says, "she's still got Charlie. And as far as I know, no one's ever had their cause of death be boredom. I'm sure she's just exaggerating." She turns to her brothers, whom have lingered in the doorway. I now notice that our parents are nowhere to be seen. "Sam, Adam," Dean shouts. Their eyes turn towards their big sister. "C'mon," Dean continues, "the Novaks have a date with destiny." She turns back to me, winks, then swaggers over to the tables occupied by Dean's friend group.

I followed reluctantly, nervous about meeting Dean's other friends. What if they didn't like me? Almost immediately I felt a phantom smack on my arm reminding me of the conversation with Dean a few days earlier.

* * *

" _So at the Roadhouse," Dean said, hesitating before blurting, "myfriendskindasortawannameetyou." We were sitting in the Winchester's living room watching_ Star Wars _, since I said I had never watched them before, and Dean had claimed it was "a crime against humanity."_

_My first reaction to hearing this was to panic. By some miracle I had managed to stay friends with Dean. What happens if they didn't like me? Would Dean stop communicating with me? I didn't realize I had said this out loud until I felt a sharp smack against my arm, Dean's face contorted with rage until she meets my eyes, compassion burning stronger than anger in her eyes._

" _You're really worried, aren't you?" she murmured softly. When I nod, she scoots closer until we were joined at the hip. We hadn't noticed that we had absolutely no personal space with each other until Gabriel had pointed it out. I had blushed but Dean had shrugged, saying that it doesn't really matter, that "_ it shows how comfortable we are with each other. If you don't like it, you can suck my metaphorical dick _." I blushed at the memory, focusing on Dean as she started speaking again._

" _Cas, even if the entire world was against you, I'd still be by your side." She squeezed my shoulder before continuing. "But I think I should tell you about my other friends so when they tell you who they are, you'll have the same advantage they do."_

_I signal my agreement before she pauses_ Star Wars _and giving me her undivided attention. "Okay so I'm gonna tell you who's dating who first. Then I'll go into details. First there's Meg and Anna. Meg Masters is the daughter of Azazel and Lilith Masters, our more prominent Satanists. Anna Milton is the niece of Pastor Jim, and her parents are strictly Catholic, so don't tell them their daughter's a lesbian. Then we have Charlie and Jo. They have enough sexual tension that we could cut through it with a plastic butter knife. But they aren't an_ actual _couple. Charlie Bradbury is a tech wiz, so don't piss her off unless you want your computer to die. Jo Harvelle is the daughter of our school's principal, Ellen, and my boss, Bobby Singer. She may be shorter than I am, but she can kick your ass just as well."_

_Dean stops to take a breath and let me process. Meg Masters. Anna Milton. Charlie Bradbury. Jo Harvelle. I nod my head for Dean to continue._

" _Okay, moving on. We already know about our brothers' eye-fucking, I don't need to go in-depth about it. But I will tell you this: Adam wants to be a doctor, and Sam a lawyer. And they are not only just as stubborn as I am, but also like a true Winchester, when they set their mind to something the only person that can stop them is God Himself."_

_I bob my head at this. "It is the same with my brothers. Michael also aspires to be a lawyer. I don't know what Gabriel wishes to do with his life, though."_

_Dean laughs. "Yeah, that sounds like Gabe. Anyhow... oh! Balth and Luci! Balthazar Roché moved here a few years ago with his father Sebastian. They came here from France. Its weird: I'm not sure if we've ever had two separate families move to Lawrence in the same decade since before my_ dad _was born. Sorry, babbling. Lucifer Pellegrino (don't give me that look Cas, he's Meg's cousin) used to make fun of Balth until I figured out he was pullin' pigtails and everyone decided to help set them up. Their one-year anniversary is coming up in a few weeks." Dean smiled, nostalgia plain on her face. I felt envious that I was not a part of these memories. I wiped the expression I knew was on my face before Dean could see it._

" _Phew. I haven't talked this much in a long time. Now that I've got all the friggin' couples, I can move on to the single people. There's yours truly. You already know I wanna be a mechanic. There's you, and I already know you wanna be a therapist."_

_I clear my throat and Dean immediately stops talking. "I have told you about what I want to do with my life_ now _. But when I was a child, I had considered devoting my life to God."_

_I blush and look down. I look up at Dean in surprise when she says, "Very well, Father Castiel." She smirks, continuing. "There's Crowley Sheppard. He's got an accent like Balth's, but that's only because he watched a lot of Brit TV shows growing up. And that's basically my, hopefully our, friend group."_

_Dean looks at me expectantly, and all I can do is stare back. She continues to wait, but I'm still wondering if her friends were going to like me. I had already told Dean that I had problems making friends, and that it was a miracle that I was able to talk to her. Blind panic coursed through my being at the thought of Dean not being my friend anymore._

" _Have you not listened to anything I've said?!" Dean practically shouted. We were at her house with only Jimmy and Kate, but she still had to keep quiet because they were taking a nap. "I'm not going to drop you like a sack of bricks when I'm done with ya! Why can't you understand that?" I have to look away now, because I do not want to see the hurt in Dean's eyes._

_I sigh before I finally speak. "When I was in sixth grade, I didn't have any friends until this one girl walked up to me and introduced herself. Her name was Ruby. We were good friends until later in the year, when she started bullying me. It got to the point where I was nearly expelled for posting mean about my teacher, Mr. Raphael, on the Internet. My family knew I was framed, since I was Mr. Raphael's best student. But I didn't make the connection to Ruby until I overheard her bragging with her friends about it. I immediately told the principal, and Ruby was expelled. After that I kept to myself, because I couldn't trust anyone. Then I met you, and I felt at peace for the first time in a long time. But I can't help but wonder if there's something wrong with me."_

_I put my head in my hands. I look straight up when I felt a hand go through my unruly hair. Dean is smiling softly at me. "I can't change your past," she says quietly, but I can alter your future. I know you don't believe me. But I_ will _prove you wrong." She leans forward and kisses me on the cheek. "Cas," she whispers in my ear, "that bitch didn't deserve your kindness."_

_Dean gets up and heads into the kitchen. As soon as she's gone, I lift my hand tentatively to my cheek. I smile a little before I compose myself. Dean comes back out a few minutes later with a big bowl of popcorn. She gives me a lopsided grin before sitting down next to me, so close there was a straight line from our hips to our ankles. "How about we finish the movie?"_

_I nod, and Dean unpauses_ Star Wars _, and for the first time in a long time, I feel hopeful._

* * *

"What's up?" Dean exclaims as soon as she reaches the table. She hugs the two ginger females and the blonde, but the brunette she high-fives. Dean merely mock-salutes the guys, whom return her gesture immediately. Dean notices I'm waiting behind her so she walks back over to me and drags me over to the table. "Guys, this is Castiel. He also goes by Cas. Cas, this here is Meg, Anna, Charlie, Jo, Balth and Crowley. Luc has decided to disappear."

"He texted me that he was running late," the blonde male, Balthazar, said.

Dean snorts. "Figures." She takes a seat. When I don't sit down immediately, Dean looks at me and pats the seat next to her and I sit between her and Balthazar.

I watch Dean and the others talk about various subjects. She seemed comfortable with everyone, but I could tell she was holding back for some reason. Before I can examine this, a teenager with dark blonde hair comes over to our table and sits in Balthazar's lap. No one even bats an eye; all they do is nod in acknowledgement. "Hey, Luc," Meg says. Lucifer doesn't pay her any attention. His eyes zero in on his boyfriend and leans down, kissing him. I feel myself blush, scooting closer to Dean in an effort to give them some space. I see Dean roll her eyes at me, but only says, "Gross, huh?" Lucifer flips us off as he continues to make out with Balthazar. "Sorry, Luci," Dean replies, "but I love Balth too much to ever consider fucking you."

They break their kiss, Lucifer turning to Dean. "Good point," Lucifer says, "though I don't understand why Balthazar would be jealous of you" Balthazar colors when Lucifer winks at him. Dean rolls her eyes again, but ignores them when they begin to kiss once more.

:You should've seen them when they were first dating," Dean mumbles to me, "it was  _horrible_. You couldn't be within fifteen  _feet_  of them."

I nod. "That doesn't seem surprising."

I guess I had made a straightforward statement, because this time Balthazar is the one to pull away and stare at me. "What makes you say that?" he asks, breathless. I shrug.

"From what Dean has told me about the two of you, before getting together, Lucifer acted like a tribble with ADD around you because he liked you so much."

Both boys openly gape at me, and I feel the stares of everyone on me. Shifting uncomfortably, I turn to Dean. She stares at me too, her lips quivering. The moment our eyes meet, she ruptures into a fit of (what can only be described as) violent laughter. Soon the others join in.

"See," Dean says once she begins to breathe normally again, clapping me on the back, "I told you guys he was a keeper."

"Yeah, you're right," the blonde female, Jo, says. Jo then proceeds to pout. "Now I don't have anyone to blame my boredom on."

"Oh, I'm sure you'll think of something, love," Crowley (?) replies.

Jo blows a raspberry at Crowley (I was certain it was Crowley, now that I think about it) before sipping her soda. After that, conversation picked back up again. And, just like usual, I was that awkward kid who wasn't needed for the conversation to carry on.

Except...

"Hey, Cas," Dean says after poking me in the face and waking me up from my depressing brain-nap. " _Please_  tell Meg that the original trilogy is better than the new one."

All I can do is blink. " _Star Wars_  or  _Star Trek_?"

" _Star Trek_  doesn't have a trilogy," Sam points out.

"The new one does," Dean says back. She smiles at me, making a flush crawl up the back of my neck. "Nice catch. But I'm talking about  _Star Wars_."

I cock my head. "I still don't understand why you don't like the prequel trilogy. It gives more background information to comprehend the original trilogy better. But... the prequels don't have the same style to them, if you really think about it. Besides, I believe that the old-style graphics are considered 'cooler'," I say, raising my hand to use air quotes for the word "cooler."

Dean rolls her eyes (most likely because I used air quotes), but she seemed smug when she turned to Meg, smirk firmly in place. Meg, on the other hand, looks thoughtful as she stares at me. "Well then, Clarence, I see how it is."

"Hey," Dean said, "don't be crackin' on homeboy just 'cause he has good tastes."

Meg snorts derisively, her eyes mirthful. "I wouldn't call liking you 'taste,' Dean-o."

"Oh, fuck you," Dean says, the words lacking the usual heat that would usually accompany them, "there's nothing wrong with Cas' sense o- JESUS CHRIST!"

I look over too late, but just time to see our brothers pull away. Somewhere during the conversation, Gabriel must have climbed into Sam's lap and kissed him. Both had mussed hair and red lips. I shift uncomfortably in my seat. Dean saw this, because she narrowed her eyes at Sam. "And you're supposed to be the smart one," she scoffed before turning to her youngest brother. "Adam-"

Adam snorts. "Please. Remember,  _I'm_  the sensible one." He then winks at Michael, who blushes slightly.

"Then what the fuck am I around for then?" Dean asks to no one in particular.

Apparently my brain-to-mouth filter decides to allude me once more, because I tell her that "you're kept around because of your compassion, Dean."

Dean looks at me with an unnameable emotion written across her face before she smiles a very genuine smile, making the area around my heart heat up. "Yeah," Dean mumbles, "that works." She narrows her eyes at Sam and Gabriel once more. "Go sit in the corner, the both of you."

Sam's wearing "the-super-mega-bitchface" expression, but still pulls Gabriel away from the table into a recluse corner of the Roadhouse. "Testosterone," Meg says, "what'cha gonna do?"

"Says the girl with enough libido to make even Dean cringe," Anna mock-complains with a raised eyebrow. Meg shrugs unabashedly and gives her girlfriend a lewd grin. "No," Anna says.

Fortunately, the food is brought to our table. I squint at the food in front of me. I got a clap on the shoulder, from a stranger when I look up. "Don't worry, brother," he says with a Southern accent, "the burger ain't poisoned."

"Haha, very funny, Lafitte," Dean jokes. "Cas, this is Benny Lafitte. Benny, this is-"

"Castiel," Benny says, his eyes roaming up and down my body. I shiver when it hits me that he's  _studying_  me. "I hope Deanna put her faith in the right person." Benny then leans forwards until his face is only a few scant inches from mine. "Don't hurt her," Benny mumbles, only loud enough for me to hear, "or you will find that a bunch of pissed teens are the least of your problems. Capiche?" I nod. "Good," Benny says as he smirks. He gets out of my personal space (much to my relief), and leaves to go take care of some other customer.

I guess the look on my face must've been priceless, because Dean puts down her food in favor of putting a hand on my shoulder (but not before wiping the grease off her hands). "Lemme guess," she said with a sad smile, "he told you that if you hurt me, he's gonna whoop your ass?" I swallow before I glance over at Benny. His back was turned to me, but I still could see all the muscles underneath his clothing. I turn back to Dean.

"Something to that extent," I say. I pause when I remember what Dean told me the night we first became friends. "This has to do with your ex-boyfriend, doesn't it?"

Dean sighs. "Really can't pull the wool over your eyes, huh?" She looks down at her abandoned food. "C'mon," Dean says as she stands, heading towards the exit. It only takes me a moment to catch up to her.

When we get outside, the humidness is a shock to my system, since it had just become acclimated to the air-conditioning inside the Roadhouse. "Talk to me," I say.

Dean sighs. "You know how you told me about Ruby and I don't hold it against you?" I nod. "Well..." Dean puts a hand on the back of her neck, hesitant. "My ex's name was Alastair. He was nice to me at first, but then things went downhill pretty quickly." She pulls down her jeans slightly, exposing her hip. I gasp at the multiple scars that I see there. "I said that I was a virgin, right? Not entirely true. I've never had full-on sex, but then again, I don't count blowjobs as sex. Not really. He used to cut my hips during... Anyway, turns out he was twenty, not seventeen like he told me, and the cops arrested him for statutory rape." She pauses, looking thoughtfully at her hip before rolling her jeans back up. "I don't regret it though. It taught me something."

She doesn't say anymore, though I can't really blame her. "He didn't deserve your kindness," I echo her words. "And I can promise you, I would never hurt you like that."

Dean smiles with her eyes when they meet my own. "Believe me, I know. The others don't know though. Only my parents and Benny know the truth. The others believed me when I said that he cheated, that's why he left. And now you know." She looks down at the ground, and to my horror, Dean begins crying. Not in the snot-and-tears way that Jimmy does whenever he injures himself, but streams of tears roll down her cheek. "I don't deserve your kindness," she mumbles, low enough for me to know that I wasn't meant to hear.

I grab her face in both of my hands and, with a sheer amount of impulsiveness, bring our foreheads together. "Don't  _ever_  think that," I growl, surprising both myself and Dean. "You are a  _good person_ , Deanna Winchester, and I am vehemently _proud_  to call you my friend. And don't you let anyone _ever_  tell you otherwise. And I could give less of a fuck if you don't believe me, because I will spend however long it takes to show you otherwise."

We stare at each other until Dean mumbles, "You swore. You're not kidding."

I roll my eyes. Apparently stubbornness was truly a Winchester sibling trait. "Duh." But now that I knew what was plaguing her, I understood why she hid herself from the others. "No more secrets?" A curl of her lips is all the answer I get. "I'll take that as a yes, then."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy hell. 6200 words and 13 pages later, we got chapter 4. I hope this makes up for not updating for months. And as a little side note, I have no idea where Alastair came from. The original story line was supposed to be Dick Roman as Dean's ex, but then Alastair decided to come in and steal the spotlight and hurt Dean. I just thought I should share this with you guys.
> 
> Pray that this author gets off her lazy ass long enough to at least have the fifth chapter by Thanksgiving. Until then, remember: the more love, the better incentive for me.


	5. Mission from God

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 5, yay! Progress. Progress is good. Also, because someone asked for ages, Michael is 19, Gabriel is 18, Cas turning 17, Dean 17, Sam and Adam 16, Kate 7 and Jimmy 6. 
> 
> Carry on and enjoy!

"C'mon, Cas! First day of school, first day of school!"

I groan as Jimmy jumps up and down on my bed, jostling me from my sleep. I lift my head from the pillow so I can see the clock on my nightstand better. I groan again when I actually see what time it is. "Jimmy, its not even six yet, how are you up?"

"I've been awake for an hour and 'm hungry!"

"Mom!"

"Sweetheart," Mom says from the doorway, wearing a robe and rubbing the sleep from her eyes, "let sleeping brothers lie."

Jimmy pouts, but he gives me a kiss on the cheek and scrambles out of my bed into Mom's open arms. They leave while I glare daggers at Jimmy's back.  _Stupid adorable kid brother, its too early in the morning for this crap._  Not five seconds later, I feel a bigger body land next to me. I yelp and turn around to, not surprisingly, see Dean laying next to me, smiling like a loon. "Mornin', sunshine," Dean sing-songs, "the earth says hello."

I give her my blankest expression I can muster, which is pretty easy considering the time. "Tell the earth I said 'screw off'."

Dean laughs. "C'mon, Casassy. This could be the first day of the rest of your life."

_That was two months ago_. "Ugh, fine." I get out of bed and stretch before I head down the hall to use the bathroom. By the time I get back, Dean's already laid out clothes for me to wear. I raise an eyebrow at the black skinny jeans and white t-shirt. Dean just shrugs before turning her back to give me some privacy. After I finish changing, I clear my throat to let Dean know she can turn back around. Dean nods in approval at what I wear. "Why am I awake before the sun?" I ask.

"Because," Dean explains, "its a tradition at any of the Lawrence school levels to be there an hours before school starts. My grandpa Henry started it. Teachers and students mingle and chat before all the seriousness starts. Besides, you guys need the grand tour anyway. No need for you to get lost on your first day, right?"

I blush, memories of being the unpopular nerd stumbling through different schools popping to the forefront of my mind. I shake the thoughts away. This wasn't about the past anymore. I don't need to freak out Dean any more than I already have. "Right," I say, my voice coming out scratchier than intended.

Dean raises an eyebrow but thankfully doesn't comment. Instead she walks up to me and starts slapping my cheeks lightly. "Wake up, Cas."

I give a long-suffering sigh. "Why did my mom let you in the house?"

"She loves me, that's why," Dean replies, now just poking me in the face.

"Would you stop that!" I stage-whisper, slapping her hands away. As a rule of thumb, I didn't yell unless I absolutely needed to. And I didn't want to unintentionally hurt Dean's feelings, but  _damn_  it was too early in the morning for this. That's when the smell hits me. I take a deep whiff. "French toast," I whisper hungrily before bolting from my room, dragging Dean down with me.

Mom's french toast is one of the best things that you will ever eat. It was like eating clouds bathed in syrup. When we around the corner leading to the kitchen, Jimmy, the little traitor, is already happily munching on french toast. Fortunately, my mom already has five plates out, all with two pieces of toast on them. I sit down and start pouring syrup on mine. Dean hesitantly sits down between me and Jimmy. "You didn't have to make me any, Mrs. Novak," Dean says quietly.

Mom rolls her eyes. "How many times do I have to tell you, either call me Becky or Mom. I don't like to have to listen to 'Mrs. Novak' this, or 'Mrs. Novak' that. And yes I did, considering I told your mom I'd make them some too."

"You did what now?"

"TOAST!" an excited voice shouts from our living room. Not five seconds later Kate comes running in, looking really happy. She fortunately skids to a halt right before she can hit the counter we're all sitting at.

Dean smiles a little and starts shaking her head. "I'm so glad you didn't run into anything," she says before lifting Kate into her lap. She gives Kate a fork before she could undoubtedly start eating with her fingers. John and Mary come in a few seconds later. "Where are Sam and Adam?"

John points to the ceiling. Dean and I both gag simultaneously before laughing, Dean wrapping an arm around Kate to make sure she didn't fall off at the force of Dean's laughter. Kate doesn't pay us any mind, her focus entirely on the food in front of her. I see Mom smirking at me out of the corner of my eye, but since I don't know why she is, I decide to put it out of my head. The laughter dies down as Dad joins us, and sat down with John and Mary at the island. We all talked amicably amongst each other for about ten minutes before the others come down. Our parents move to give us privacy, taking Jimmy and Kate with them.

Dean started snickering at the disheveled looks our brothers were sporting: Sam's hair was all over the place, Michael's clothes were wrinkles to the point of no return, Adam's lips were slightly swollen and Gabriel was grinning like a lunatic. "I hope you guys used protection," Dean jokes, taking care not to say it too loudly.

"We're not that easy," Sam and Adam say in unison. Dean just rolls her eyes as she gets up. She heads over to the counter to grab the food Mom had left out for them. I get up to help her set it on individual plates.

"Think it'll last?" Dean whispers to me as she grabs the maple syrup.

I smile at her. "I have the utmost confidence in my brothers not to screw this up."

Dean's eyes cloud over for a second before the haunted look vanishes. "At least one of us does," she mumbles. "My dad nearly lost my mom because he had trouble telling her how he felt. Me, Sam and Adam kinda picked it up off him. Emotional constipation is a Winchester curse."

My brows furrow in confusion.. "You don't seem to be emotionally constipated around me."

Dean doesn't respond, just takes some of the plates and maple syrup over to the others. She makes one more trip to grab the neglected toast and give it to Sam before coming to stand next to me again, our backs to our brothers. "You're... easier to talk to. It feels like I've known you forever. I've known Jo all my life, yet she still doesn't know about He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. I've known you for a summer, and you know more about me,  _see_  more about me, than others ever have or will. You're special, Castiel. With you, I have something great."

Silence. "...if it makes you feel any better, I feel the same way. I like to think we have a more profound bond than we do with most people."

That gets the left corner of Dean's mouth to tilt up. "Profound bond, eh?" I nod, making Dean smile even more. "Ok. We have a profound bond, then."

My eyebrows furrow. "Are you mocking me?"

Dean's lips purse. "No... actually its nice... Does this mean you'll always have my back?"

I look Dean straight in the eye as I say "always".

* * *

"Okay, hands down, smallest school  _ever_."

Sam cocked an eyebrow at his boyfriend. "What did you expect, the National Mall?"

"...Maybe."

Sam snorts. "You are so weird," he says affectionately.

Gabriel winks at Sam. "You love it and you know it."

Sam leaned in and whispered something to him, causing Gabriel to flush. Sam smirked and kissed Gabriel's cheek before straightening up at the sound of his name being called. A blonde female then tackles Sam in a hug. Sam laughs as he hugs her back. "Hey, Jess."

"Hi, Sam," Jess says. "Oooh," she exclaims as she lets go of Sam and sees Gabriel, "is this the infamous Gabriel?" Jess stuck her hand out in greeting. "I'm Jess; I've heard so much about you!"

Gabriel hesitantly shakes her hand. "Funny, Sammy's never mentioned you."

"Oh, that's because I like to make my own first impressions. You don't get to do that in a small town too often." Jess turns to Dean. "Did you threaten him with your tkd?"

"Tkd?" Gabriel asks.

"Taekwondo," Dean replies before Jess can. "I'm a fourth-degree since May. I'm a volunteer instructor a few towns over."

Gabriel blinks at Dean. "Sammy," he says, his voice slightly high-pitched, "why didn't you tell me this piece of  _very vital information_?"

Sam shrugs. "To be honest, I forgot. Dean's been doing it since she was four. That's normal for me. The question is, why didn't  _Cas_  warn you?"

"Hey!" I say. "Don't turn this on me! I was sworn to secrecy, and to be perfectly honest, I like my balls where they are!"

Dean actually looks offended. "I never threatened your balls!"

"But you could still do it, right?"

Dean opens her mouth, but closes it when she realizes I'm right. "Conceded. And besides," she turns to Gabriel, "I was only gonna break that out  _if_  and  _only if_  you hurt Sam. But I don't think you need to worry your pretty little testes about that." Dean's mouth curves and she pulls her chin down so she can look through her lashes. I assume it was meant to scare Gabriel, which it was doing a spectacular job of executing. "Just... be careful, 'kay?"

Gabriel nods quickly. "Oh, hey, look, its Mikey," he says before sprinting towards our brother. Sam looks at Dean. Dean smirks. Sam just rolls his eyes before following Gabriel, Jess close behind.

"That was way too easy," Dean says. I nod in agreement. "Nice touch, by the way. About the nut-ripping-off."

I half-smile. "I've picked up some bad habits off of you."

Dean grins. "Its okay. I caught myself tilting my head the other day, then I called Adam an assbutt."

"It is very comforting to know that I'm not the only one."

"Damn straight."

" **Deanna Winchester!** "

We both freeze. "Don't move a muscle. Maybe she won't see us."

"I don't think that she's a tyrannosaurus rex, Dean."

"Shut up and don't move."

I decide to humor her and freeze. A middle-aged woman with long, straight brown hair comes over to us. "Deanna, I'm not going to give you a detention. C'mere."

Dean relaxes and unfreezes as she bends down to hug the woman. I unfreeze as well, waiting to put a name to the face. Dean releases her. "Cas, this is Ellen Harvelle, our school principal. Ellen, this is Castiel Novak."

Ellen extends her hand at the same time I do and we shake. "Cas, right?" I nod. "Jo's mentioned you. She kept bitching about unhateable you are." We let go as she says this.

"You're right about that one, Principal Harvelle. Cas is the least hateable person you'll ever meet," Dean says, honesty dripping from every word. And it still stuns me every once in a while that some like Dean would ever be friends with someone like me, and it meant a lot to be here with her.

"I wouldn't say  _that_ ," I mumble. Dean kicks my shin lightly in protest. "Ow," I mumble again. "That was uncalled for."

"So was your comment."

"Hey, stop it, you two," Ellen says sternly. We stopped immediately. The mom-voice was very effective in situations like this. "Dean, Cas has the right to an opinion. Doesn't mean you have to agree with it."

Dean lowers her head. "Yes, ma'am."

"Don't apologize to me. Apologize to your friend."

"'m sorry, Cas."

"It's fine, Dean."

...

"I still think you're wrong."

"That's fine. Just don't kick me every time."

"Sorry, older sibling reflex."

"Just don't rip my nuts off and were good."

"Yeah, I think we can agree that your nuts should stay where they are.

"Exactly." Suddenly a shrill noise pierces the school grounds. "Time for school," Ellen says, walking towards a boy who's sitting under a tree napping.

I narrow my eyes at Dean. "You said school didn't start until eight."

Dean just shrugs. "Since everyone is here, if we go to school now, we get out at 12:30 instead of 2:45."

"You lied to me."

"No, I didn't. During homeroom we socialize before class starts."

"You said it was before school."

"Well, technically, homeroom  _is_  before school."

"I hate you."

"Why?" Dean looked sad and started pouting.

"Because you woke me up before I had to be woken up."

"No, I didn't. Jimmy did." She seemed a little too smug about this, and my eyes widen in realization.

"You sent Jimmy to wake me up." It wasn't a question.

"Well, Jimmy was already going to wake you up, I just helped him sneak into your room.

A beat. Then, "You're dead, Winchester."

Before I could blink, Dean breaks out into a sprint towards the school. I follow a split second later. "Only if you can catch me!" Dean shouts over her shoulder. She reaches the doors of the high school, crashing through, me only a few steps behind her. "S'cuse me, pardon me, comin' through!" she yells at the people in her path to escape me. They move out of the way, unsurprised (which in turn really doesn't surprise me). They stayed out of the way long enough for me to catch up with her. Then Dean turned the corner of the hallway, running down the left corridor. I skid to a stop before I ram into the wall, running as soon as my equilibrium is back in place. I see Sam and Adam up ahead, Michael and Gabriel nowhere in sight. "Sam! Adam!" Dean shouted. "Help!"

Adam moves to the other side of the hallway. Dean hits the ground, right leg on the ground and left knee tucked in slightly, sliding across the ground baseball-style. Sam blocked the way after Dean slid by, using my momentum from chasing his sister to catch me around the waist, halting me. Adam moves to stand in front of me, hands up in a placating manner, face the same. Dean stands up, wiping her jeans off, standing a good seven feet behind Adam.

"Cas," Adam says soothingly, using Sam's grip on me to move closer, "I'm sure whatever Dean did doesn't automatically mean killing her."

"She woke me up before I had to be woken, I growl lowly, glaring at my friend.

"Says the accuser, who couldn't even be bothered to tell his  _best friend_  that his  _birthday_  is  _ **next week**_?!"

I stop struggling. "Who told you that?"

Dean puts a hand on her hips, face as angry as I assume mine had been moments before. "Your  _mother_ , asshole." She smirks. "Sammy, let 'im go." Sam immediately releases me, forcing me to stand on my own two feet. "But that's fine," Dean continues, "your mom says I can kidnap you on Monday, since it's Labor Day, and we're gonna do whatever I have planned for you. Capiche?"

I look at the ground in shame. "I capiche."

"Good." I see Dean's feet turn and walk into a classroom.

"May I make a suggestion?" I start. I had completely forgotten Sam and Adam were there. I nod at Sam to continue, unable to keep my gaze anywhere else except the doorway. "May I suggest you start groveling?"

"Now would be a good time," Adam chimes in.

"Now would be a  _great_  time," Sam corrects his twin.

"You don't want Dean holding a grudge against you," Adam continues.

I nod. "Yes, I think I need to go... grovel." I head towards the classroom. When I enter, to my pleasant surprise, I see Dean sitting with Balthazar and Anna. (While I want to talk to Dean alone, I had come to enjoy Balth and Anna's company, though my preference is still Dean). Dean looks up as I enter and beckons me towards with her index finger. I move towards the back where the others were sitting, the small classroom still devoid of other students.

"If you don't wanna sit in the back for the entirety of your junior year," Dean says, "you might wanna sit up front, poindexter."

I blink at Dean's jab before I sit next to her (hopefully she kept the seat open for me). "If my grade suffers," I say slowly, "my mother will come after you."

A beat. Then Dean chuckles. "Really, Cas?" That the best you can throw at me?"

I shrug. "I have admitted that your mother is something to be reckoned with. Is my mom not as scary?"

"I didn't say that." The chatter grows louder as nine other students come in. One of them catches sight of Dean and heads toward us. "Your mom is definitely—"

"Hello, Deanna," the stranger said. He had dark skin, a shaved head and an expression of ill-contempt, his eyes looking spiteful as they bore into Dean.

Dean's expression immediately changed from playful to protective. "Hello, Uriel," she replies icily.

"I hope you had a good summer," Uriel said pleasantly, trying to sound soothing but really, all he did was make a shiver crawl down my spine. But that was before I remembered who Uriel was. And what he'd done.

"It was. I found a Catholic who's okay with the LGBTQIA+ community. Apparently its God's  _children_  who hate change." She smirks at him.

Uriel's eyes narrow at her before he notices that I'm sitting there. I refrain from shrinking as those eyes bore into me. Instead, I do what Dean would do: I kick my feet up on the table, put my hands behind my head, lean back and look him straight in the eye without a hint of backing down. "You got a problem with that?" I ask, giving him a cocky smile while I'm at it.

His eyes narrow even further (though I was wondering how he could even  _see_ ), but it didn't matter. If he wanted to be homophobic, that was fine by me. Let him be stupid. Just as long as his stupidity didn't hurt the people I love. Uriel's lips purse in disdain. "Actually, it does. So if you would kindly—"

"Actually," I interrupt, my face contorting into the ill-contempt expression Uriel had just worn, "if  _you_  would kindly butt out of other people's business, that would be fantastic." I drop my feet from the desk right as the teacher walks in.

Balthazar was the spitting image of his father, which is proven when Mr. Roché notices Uriel standing over me and walks over to us, standing silently behind Uriel. "Now listen to me, you mud monkey—"

Uriel manages to start but doesn't get a chance to finish before Mr. Roché interrupts, "Yes, Mr. Wisdom, while I'm sure that would've been a  _very_  interesting comeback, I'm afraid that class is starting, so I kindly ask you to take your seat." Uriel grumbles but complies with the teacher's request, but not before he glares at me over his shoulder. I smile in return, glad that Mr. Roché came in when he did. Speaking of, Mr. Roché is nodding in my direction. "You Casteel?"

I barely manage to stop myself from cringing at the mispronunciation of my name. "Actually, its Castiel," Dean says matter-of-factly. I look over at her. She's not looking at me, but  _through_  me. I color slightly at her attention. "Castiel Novak," Dean continues, eyes never straying from me.

Mr. Roché stares at us before he shrugs. "Okay, then..."

"Cas," Dean supplies.

"Cas. Right then. Welcome to Lawrence, Mr. Novak."

"Thank you, Mr. Roché," I say. I don't see his reaction before he walks away. "What?" I ask Dean.

"You're a mouthy little shit," Balthazar says cheerfully. "I like it."

"Agreed," Anna mumbles.

"Aren't you guys glad that he moved here?" Dean says. There were murmurs of agreement. "He's a true Winchester," she says proudly.

I want to say I'm  _not_  a Winchester, but Mr. Roché calls our attention, asking us how our summers were. I grumble as I settle into my seat. I'll have to correct Dean later.

* * *

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!"

I blink at Dean, who had burst into my room just as I was grabbing a shirt. Now I was grateful I had pants on. I did not need _that_  embarrassment. "My birthday isn't until Thursday."

Dean smirks at me. "I told you, today is  _our_  day. I'm kidnapping you, and you're going to like it."

I roll my eyes at Dean's logic before I pull my shirt on. "You can't make me like anything."

Dean makes a face at me. "You ready?" I nod. "Good, grab your sketchbook. You'll need it."

A question rests at the tip of my tongue, but I bite it it back. I'll find out soon enough. I grab my sketchbook and a pencil before slipping it though the spiral, following Dean out of my room and down the stairs. My family is relaxing in the living room. Mom had her head in Dad's lap, eyes closed. Dad's hand is resting on the crown of her head and his other arm is around a sleeping Jimmy. I don't see Michael anywhere, but (unfortunately) Gabriel is in the room. His eyebrows waggle at me, and in retaliation I subtly flip him off. Dean fails to hide her grin behind her hand. "Ok, I'm stealing Cas now. We'll be back by tomorrow," Dean jokes.

"Have fun, you two," Dad says, not looking up as he pets Mom's hair.

"But not  _too_  much fun," Gabriel emphasizes.

I look over to make sure Dad isn't paying attention before I say, "Bite me, assbutt," and leave the living room, Dean trailing behind me, laughing hysterically.

"That was beautiful, Cas," Dean tells me as we leave the house.

I roll my eyes. "You do realize I knew that before I met you, right?"

"Yeah, but you never utilized it enough."

I raise an eyebrow at her as we walked towards Baby. "I didn't realize you knew a big word such as  _utilize_ ," I joke.

"Oh," Dean says, looking offended, even though I know she knows I'm only kidding. "So I didn't start being smart 'til you showed up?"

"No, you just started  _acting_  like you were smart when I showed up."

Dean sticks her tongue out at me as we climb into her car. I had all but claimed shotgun, not finding out until later that I had stolen Sam's spot. I didn't think Sam minded too much, though. I wait for Dean to start the car, setting my sketchbook in my lap, but am surprised when my sight is darkened. "Dean, what are you doing?"

"Trust me, Cas, you're gonna love it," Dean says, starting the ignition and putting the car into gear. I start at the movement and blindly reach out, grabbing Dean's arm in the process. She laughs at my fear and pats my hand. "Its fine, Cas. I just don't want to give away the surprise." She doesn't protest when I scoot closer to wrap my arm through hers, leaning my head against the back of the seat, my other arm cradling the sketchbook in my lap. I decide that, since I can't see, taking a nap sounds like a good idea, hoping Dean won't mind. This is her fault, after all.

After what only felt like a few minutes, I feel a nudge against my knee. "C'mon, Casablanca, wake up." I jolt awake, causing my notebook to slide. I reach blindly, catching Dean's wrist just as I hear her catch my sketchbook. I hear a hitch in Dean's breath, my own halting.

Light suddenly accosts my eyes. I blink rapidly, my eyes adjusting faster than comfortable. When I can see clearly again, I notice how close my face is to Dean's. I had never felt like this around anyone before. I wonder...

"You need to be more careful, Cas," Dean says, voice slightly high-pitched. She clears her throat, leaning back and giving me some personal space. "Here," she says, looking down as she hands me my sketchbook. "Welcome," Dean monologues with a smile, "to paradise."

I'm about to ask her what she means by that, when I happen to look out the window. My mouth drops open as I grip my sketchbook tightly in response to what I see. We must have been a few hours outside Lawrence, because there wasn't another human being in sight. All there was was forest as far as the eye could see, the midmorning sun beating down as clouds shaped themselves around an old building. "Where are we?" I ask, stunned.

"Lebanon," Dean says casually. "We're only about four hours from Lawrence. I found this place by accident while I was driving around. This is where I like to come when I know I need to write  _something_. Its nice and quiet. This is an old army base that my grandpa used worked out of during World War II. Its for this organization called 'The Men of Letters'. They were basically army intelligence. It was abandoned after the fall of the Soviet Union." Dean turns to me after I look back at her, riveted by the story. "You like?"

I shake my head in the negative before I respond with, "I  _love it_."

Dean smiles. "I figured you would. This seems like your kind of place."

I nod in agreement. "I haven't been to a place like this since Yosemite."

"You've been to Yosemite?! What's it like?"

My mouth tilts in nostalgia. "Beautiful. I was too young to go rock-climbing, so I wanna go back at some point to do that."

"That sounds incredible." She looked sad as she stared out the window. "This is the closest I've ever come to getting out of Lawrence."

"Really?" This kind of surprised me. "You've never left Lawrence?"

"Nope," Dean said, making a  _pop_  sound on the 'p'. "I want to, though. Someday. Even if for a little while. Its kind of hard to leave. My mom left, and look where she is now."

"But she's happy, isn't she?"

"...Yeah. But we all can't leave at the same time. I need to stay behind so Sam and Adam can live their lives."

"Dean, you shouldn't have to sacrifice your life for others to live. You deserve to be as happy as anyone else—"

"Sam and Adam deserve more!" Her exclamation made her turn to look at me, eyes fierce as a mother's. "If they leave, they might be able to get free of the ridicule, of the sameness! If there's anybody who deserves that its them!"

"You deserve it too! You— you deserve the world at your feet, because you would never take it for granted. You deserve to see the world, because you would find something in it that most everyone else has become blind to. You deserve to be happy, because you're an amazing person. You deserve—"  _You deserve to be loved like you should be_.

Dean blinks at me for a few minutes. "How is it that someone who can't see themselves clearly can say that about someone else?"

I blink back at her. "Because," I say slowly, hoping to get this through, "you never see yourself as clearly as you'll see others."

Dean blinks a few more times before slowly nodding her head. "Yeah, I guess you're right. I mean, how else would I have known to get you this?"

I look out the window again. I hear rustling as I stare at the old army bunker. "I'm glad you took me here, Dean. This is one of the best gifts anyone has ever given me."

"Uhhh... Cas?"

"Yes, Dean?" I turn back to her, seeing a big white box in her lap. My head tilts in confusion. "What is that?"

"Your birthday present," Dean says, the 'duh' obvious in her tone.

I roll my eyes. "I got that. I thought that this," gesturing to the bunker and the forest, "was my birthday present."

"Well, it was. Originally. But then your baby bro had a fantastic idea." Dean rubs the back of her neck self-consciously. "You know how, a few weekends back, I took Jimmy and Katie to one of my tkd classes?" I nod. "Well, we were passing this second-hand store, and the twerps ran into it. This is technically from the little balls of trouble."

I take the box from Dean and open it tentatively. Inside is white tissue paper and an envelope on top of it. I take the envelope and open it gingerly (just to piss Dean off), noticing the front of the card was a picture of Elmo saying "Hooray, you're 1", except someone sharpied a "7" after the "1" so it would say "17". I open it to see messy handwriting that stated: "Happy birthday big brotha! I love you! Jimmy". I smile before I put the card down and lift away the tissue paper, my jaw dropping at what I saw.

Inside was a tan trenchcoat, well-worn but still in good condition. I ran a hand reverently over the fabric. I felt guilty when I remembered what I had thought about Jimmy last week when he had woken me up early (which I was no longer mad at Dean for), and silently vowed that I would pay Jimmy back for getting me such an amazing gift. But he wasn't the only person I owed. I looked up at Dean from under my lashes. "Thank you," I said gratefully. Dean tried to protest, but I cut her off quickly. "There's no was a six-year-old could have payed for this; so again, thank you."

Dean huffs a "you're welcome," then, "C'mon, let's go exploring. I've never done it with someone else before."

I set the box down in between us and grab my sketchbook from where I had set it on the dash before saying "okay," exiting the vehicle, excited to explore something new once more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeesh. Why is it every time I try to write schmoop there's some sort of fight beforehand?! I swear, my mind is so weird. But I thought it would be cute to have Jimmy give Castiel THE trenchcoat for his birthday, since technically he DID give Cas the trenchcoat when he said "yes" in the series. And I hope y'all enjoy the little over 5000 words I spewed out for this.
> 
> So the tkd thing was in honor of my bff. She's really committed to it, and I just saw her performance in it. It was SO graceful. She explained to me that you only use tkd in self-defense and never to seriously hurt someone, but, for the sake of the story, I had to have Dean harass Gabriel XD
> 
> BTW, what Sam whispers in Gabriel's ear is "I'm starting to." *fangirls and runs away*


	6. Waiting For Love

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow. Almost done with this story. I'm really glad that you guys like this story enough to read it. I am grateful to you all. This chapter is for yuffb and general yumi on FF.net, who gave me great ideas for this chapter. Thank you both!

"Fuck."

I was so screwed.

"Fuckfuckfuck _fuck_!"

It was over. Done with. No going back anymore. Like there was  _ever_  a chance to go back. From the beginning, it was happening. From the first night it has seemed inevitable. And now it was done.  _Finito_. I was now ruined, because I had completely (well, as completely as anyone as young as I am can) and utterly fallen in love with one Deanna Winchester.

_Fuck_.

* * *

"Castiel? Are you okay?"

"Huh? Oh," I look back to where I'd been staring at the wall, "hey, Mom."

"Baby, what's wrong?" Mom moves to sit beside me on the side of my bed and puts the back of her hand on my forehead. "You don't have a temperature."

I bat my mom's hands away gently. "I'm not sick, Mom."

"But you're not well." It wasn't a question.

I sigh. "I guess," I reply sullenly. "Just... some emotional revelations. I'll be fine, Mom."

"Ahhh, I get it," Mom wraps an arm around me before squeezing my shoulder, "you realized you love Dean." I whip my head up, Mom laughing at the expression on my face. "Its fine, sweetheart. Its not as obvious as you think it is. I just know how to spot the signs. I've seen two of my sons jump in head-first. You're more cautious about whom you give your heart to. And nobody can blame you for that. But... I suggest telling Dean. I think she's been waiting for you this entire time, and also I think you've kept her waiting long enough." Mom squeezes my shoulder once more before getting up and leaving the room.

Meanwhile I'm stuck sitting there, multiple thoughts circulating my head, one standing above them all: Dean never told me she loved me. As a friend or anything else. She told her long-time friends that she loves them. Her siblings and her parents. Hell, even Gabriel after they pranked Uriel. Never me. Ever.  _Maybe its because she loves you differently than anyone else_ , a small voice in the back of my mind says,  _You've never said you love her because its a different kind of love. You could both be_ not _saying it for the same reasons_.

Okay, I breathe, I'll tell her. I'm scared to lose her friendship, but I'm willing to risk it if it makes me happy. More importantly, if it makes  _Dean_  happy. I'll tell her... right after her tkd finals.

* * *

_...Conceal, don't feel,_

_Don't let them know_ —

_Well, now they know!..._

I watched in awe at Dean's performance. I hadn't realized a year ago that Dean incorporated fan work into her taekwondo. It was graceful to see Dean move in sync with Jo and Adam (who apparently was working for his fourth degree).

_And one thought_

_crystallizes like an_

_icy blast..._

I smiled at the younger children, who were "oooh"ing and "ahhh"ing at the trio's choice of song. Jo had wanted to do something by an artist named Phillip Phillips, but Dean had said it wasn't what they needed. Gabriel had suggested they do Flesh by "Nightcore," to which everyone hurriedly exclaimed "No!" and Sam had smacked Gabriel upside the head. Then Jimmy and Kate had come running in begging us to take them to  _Frozen_. Since it has just been the six of us, we decided to do that, if only to prevent the release of the puppy-dog eyes. It had given the trio the inspiration they'd needed.

_Let the storm rage on!_

_The cold never bothered_

_me anyway._

As the performance finished, they shut their fans quickly, the 'snap' mimicking the sound of doors closing. They set their fans down reverently before turning to bow in respect to their instructors before turning back to the crowd, bowing this time in thanks. They stood straight to roaring applause, everyone giving them a standing ovation, myself included.

Sam whooped loudly at his siblings, standing besides Jo's girlfriend, her red curls bouncing up and down, mimicking Sam. Before anyone could stop her, Charlie ran out of the crowd towards Jo, tackling her in a hug. Jo wrapped her arms around Charlie's waist, lifting her up and spinning her around. Michael is also down there, hugging Adam. I wait for someone to go to Dean and congratulate her.

Surprisingly, no one does.

I wait for the crowd to dissipate a little more before I leave my spot to go find Dean. Since this town is bigger than Lawrence, there's more people to crowd through. I'm about to reach out to Dean when my eyes randomly flitted over to the far wall. I froze when I saw a girl leaning up against the wall, eyes zeroed in on me. It had been years since I'd last seen her, but I would recognize that face anywhere. I lower my hand and walk over to her.

I'm standing face-to-face with her sooner than comfortable with, but a part of me feels like I need to do this. "Hello, Ruby," I said.

Ruby smiles at me. I fight back the urge to cringe. It looked like someone had injected too much sugar into her smile. "Hello, Castiel. Pleasure to see you again."

"The pleasure is all yours," I reply bitingly. "What do you want, Ruby?"

She bats her eyelashes quickly, and it takes me a moment to realize where I've seen that before. Then it hits me hard, and my body freezes up in horror. "Oh, Cassie," Ruby croons at me. She places her hands on my chest and pushes her body against mine. I try to move away, but her tight grip on my shoulders makes escape impossible without hurting her. She knows this, too, I think bitterly. "I'm surprised you aren't more excited to see me. We are  _best friends_ , after all."

I push her hands off my chest. "You are not my friend," I hiss at her, "you stopped being my friend the moment you stabbed me in the back.  _We_ ," I gesture into the minimal space between us, "should  _never_  have been friends. I have real friends here, Ruby. Maybe you should find people who are more like you."

I turn to walk away when Ruby says something that stops me dead in my tracks: "People like Alastair?" I turn back around quickly. "How did I know about him and Deanie-beanie? Well," she purrs, "he's my cousin. Though not by blood fortunately." Ruby winks at me lasciviously, making me taste the bile that rises up my throat. "He told me  _everything_. And if _that_  got out... Her little life in that craphole you call a town would be over."

"If you are implying," I ground out slowly through clenched teeth, "that everyone that loves Dean would turn her away because of that, you are sadly mistaken."

"Funny," Ruby says sarcastically, "because if  _she_  cared about  _any_  of those people, she would let them know."

"You're one to talk," I snap back, angry. I wouldn't let this demon hurt my friend.

"Cas?" a familiar voice calls out.

"At least I'm not afraid of what others think," Ruby replies before she leans forward. I realize what she's going to do, but I don't have enough reaction time to back away. Before she can touch me though, a hand reaches out to grip her hair and yank her back. Ruby hits the wall with a thud. "What the fuck?" she yells at her attacker, who I now realize is Dean, still fully-clothed in her taekwondo ensemble.

Dean stands between me and Ruby like a shield, hands clenched in rage. "Watch your mouth, bitch," she growls. "Cas," she asks me, her tone becoming softer, never turning away from Ruby, "who is this?"

I blink, unfreezing. "That is Ruby," I say blankly. I blink again as Dean's back stiffens.

Dean grabs Ruby by the hair again, hauling her up. Ruby moves to cry out, but Dean covers her mouth and she crowds her against the wall. "You would do well not to make me angry." She talks softly, but with an undercurrent of fury that makes Ruby's eyes widen in fear. "You wouldn't like it when I'm angry. Now, if you come anywhere near Cas again, that will be the last thing you ever do. According to the law, I'm a lethal weapon. If I make a death threat, I could get arrested. But this isn't a threat. This is a warning. Just to be clear though, I know people who  _can_  get away with murder. Now...  _get_.  _Out_."

She lets go of Ruby's hair and mouth, backing away before throwing her a sweet smile. Dean grabs my hand and pulls me in to the crowd, which is surprising that no one's noticed what had been happening. I stay quiet until we get outside. Its only then that I realize how angry Dean was. She was  _shaking_. I had never seen her this mad before. "Dean," I say. She doesn't appear to hear me. " _Dean_ ," I plead, desperation unwillingly seeping into my voice. Fortunately, though, that seems to be the thing that snaps Dean back to the present before her shoulders slump.

"I swear to God I am so tired of people like that," Dean mumbles at the ground before she looks up at me. "Are you okay? You looked ready to deck her."

I purse my lips in disdain. "Mom always taught me not to use my fists, but I was  _very close_  to making an exception."

Dean smirks at me. "And you claim that you're a pacifist."

"I am. But she... she was being mean. She was bullying you."

Dean blinks at me. "I'm pretty positive I would've remembered meeting that bitch."

I take a breath, preparing myself for Dean's reaction. "She knows Alastair."

A beat. Then, "Oh." Dean looks slightly off-kilter. " _That's_  what pissed you off?!"

My eyebrows furrow. "Why—"

"I mean, seriously, that cunt  _stabbed you in the back_ , and you're mad about  _Alastair_?! Cas, he ruined  _his life_  the moment he touched me. I don't understand why I am  _so_  important to you. I mean, I've only known you for about a year. What makes me so special?!"

"Because I love you!" I clamp my mouth shut as soon as the words leave my mouth. To her credit, Dean didn't react. She just looked at me as if she were waiting for me to continue. When I don't, Dean just sighs.

"DW, February 25th." I squint at her. I begin to open my mouth to ask her what that means, but she beats me to it, starting to speak once more.

" **I had no hope, I was stuck in Hell,**

**Until I was gripped tight by the angel Castiel.**

**He pulled me close, held me tight,**

**Fighting so hard to save my light.**

**I tried to stop him, tried to fade,**

**Die in the hell that I had made.**

**But he did not stop, continued to fight,**

**Pulling me out with all his might.**

**And now I am free, with you by my side,**

**Not just my savior but also my guide.**

**Now that I know and am friends with you,**

**And all I can say is: I love you, too.** "

Dean smiles at me shyly. "I had a hunch. That, and your baby brother told me to put you out of your misery." I roll my eyes. Of course, Jimmy  _would_  do something like that. "Kinda owe the twerp now," Dean says, stepping closer and closer until there was virtually no space between us. "I know you haven't had your first kiss yet," Dean whispers, "so we don't have to do that. You set the pace. I'm more than willing to wait."

I huff out a breath. "I'm glad one of us can," I murmur before gently pressing my lips to her. Dean's lips were soft and warm, making my head buzz a little. Dean hums against my mouth before changing the angle of the kiss, her hands moving to the back of my neck to pull me closer. I wait a moment before I brush my tongue over her lips, Dean granting me entrance immediately. Gabriel, being the jerk that he is, explained to me in  _great detail_  the mechanics of French kissing. I had always thought that it was a disgusting aspect of kissing. But now that I was a participant, I could understand why people did it now. My heart was beating  _closercloserDeanDean_ _ **Dean**_. I slid my hands to her hips, pulling our bodies flush together. We break apart with a gasp. I bring my forehead to rest on hers, my breath coming in faster than normal. I'm surprised to find that my eyes are closed, and when I open them, Dean's are as well. She had a blush rising up her cheeks, making her freckles more prominent. When Dean finally opens her eyes, she looks up at me with a giant smile kissing her lips. Speaking of kissing... "How was that?" I ask, suddenly nervous. Just because Dean loves me doesn't mean I'm a great kisser.

Dean rolls her eyes at me and reaches up the scant few inches to brush her lips against mine. A noise escapes me when I try to follow her but she stops me, causing her to laugh, her breath puffing out against my lips. "That... was perfect. Not bad for a newbie."

I ignore her comment as I lean in once more. Dean huffs into my mouth but lets me continue kissing her. That is, until or family interrupts us. But we continue to kiss for a moment before we break apart slowly. "What do you want?" I ask Sam, never taking my eyes off Dean.

"Nothin', Cas." Sam sounded smug. "But Mom wanted to know where Dean was. I'll tell her you're...  _occupied_."

"Yeah, whatever, just go away," Dean says as she gestures in the general direction of Sam.

Sam snorts. "Jerk."

Dean doesn't respond, since her lips are otherwise occupied. I hear Sam retreat, giving me and Dean a chance to have privacy once more. We continue to kiss until the need for oxygen beats our need for each other and we part. We stare at each other for a few minutes until we both start grinning like crazy people. "Think this'll last?" Dean asks inquisitively, mimicking her question from all those months ago. I give her what I did then: the truth.

"Of course we will," I reply before sealing my lips over hers once more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, my followers and people who have just discovered this story, we are almost at the end. There will be an epilogue after this, and then the journey is over. Thank you all for reading. It makes me happy to make you happy.
> 
> And BTW, Dean is 5'10. So she's tall for a female but a perfect height for Cas ;)


	7. Epilogue - A Thousand Years

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is it. The end. I hope you guys enjoyed this, and thank you all for reading. And bonus points for those who figure out the easter egg I hid in here. And Merry Belated Christmas (or whatever you celebrate, then Merry (insert holiday you celebrate)).

I open my eyes slowly, the morning light bathing me and waking my up unwillingly. I contemplate going back to sleep when I hear my fianceé groan. "Cas," Dean says sleepily, "turn off the sun."

I smile at her as she rolls into me, burying her face in my neck. "I'm not the sun god, love. If I try to turn off the sun, it'll just ignore me."

Dean swats me playfully. "Smartass." Suddenly she's sitting up, reaching for the clock. I sit up too, wanting to know the time now that I remembered what today was.  **8:15 AM**. "What time do we need to be at the chapel by?" Dean asks.

"Not until 12:30," I reply, relaxing back into the bed. I open my arms up, and Dean comes willingly, arms wrapped around my waist as mine come around her shoulder and hip. Dean's head burrows into my neck, breath tickling my neck as she sighed in contentment. "Why did you want to get married today?" I ask, curious to why Dean insisted we get married today.

Dean shrugs. "Because, its just like any other day. Not a major holiday, or a birthday, or anything else.  _We_  make it special. September 18th is  _our_  day."

I smile at her. "And you say  _I'm_  the romantic one."

Dean nips my ear in retaliation. "Hush, you."

"Anything... Mrs. Novak."

"Ah, bite me, Mr. Novak."

* * *

"So, are you ready?"

I turn to Michael, my best man (I had originally considered Gabriel for all of five seconds until I remembered that the best man got to plan the bachelor party, so instead I made him a groomsman along with Balthazar) looking sharp in his suit, dark green tie matching perfectly with his eyes. I give him a small smile. "I'm ready," I say, confident in my choice as I was eight years ago when I first met my Winchester.

Michael nodded to my future mother-in-law to start playing, and [Mendelssohn's Wedding March](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4tDYMayp6Dk) commences as Kate walks down the aisle as the flower girl, followed by Adam and Sam as Dean's "maids" of honor. Then I see Dean and (like every cliché romantic movie I have ever seen) everything stops and my reality focuses on her.

Dean smiled at me, and I took a moment to appreciate the dress Dean had finally decided for [her wedding dress](https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-HTP678ySKoSVRNQlNROEl4T0E/view?usp=sharing). It was pure white, excepting the lace around the corset and down the middle of the gown, and the black fabric on the bust to accentuate her collarbone (and breasts) and down the middle as well. She seemed to glow as John led her down the aisle. Our eyes stayed connected until she leaned over to kiss her father on the cheek.

Then she was next to me, and it took all of my will to pay attention to the ceremony instead of the woman it would bind me to for the rest of our lives. I was fortunate enough that I paid some mind for my cue to say 'I do'. Then I kissed my wife to the chorus of cheers that surrounded us. We pulled away, smiling like idiots. And if that's what love makes you, then I'm  _proud_  to be the biggest dumbass in the universe if it means I get to keep Dean. And I know that Dean feels the same way.

* * *

"So, Mrs. Novak..."

Dean smiles at me before ducking her head shyly, lifting it back up a moment later. "You're never gonna get tired of that, are you?"

I purse my lips for a second before I break out into a grin of my own. "Never."

My wife mock-groans before burying her face in my neck like this morning. I kiss the top of her head before it finally sinks in: I'm married. To Deanna Winchester. My high school sweetheart, who is so much more than that. I stop moving, which halts our dancing. It was towards the end of the reception, so not as many people were looking at us as they did during our first dance. Dean stumbles for a moment before my arms tighten around her waist to prevent her from falling. I take a moment to look around the room at those who I call family, the people I love more than anything in the world. "Cas?" Dean asks. "Everything alright?"

I look back at Deanna Novak with wonder. "Everything's...  _perfect_ ," I emphasize, sealing my lips with hers knowing that, as long as I had her, everything would be.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Comments, questions, reviews, anything is welcome!!!! And the next chapter shall be posted soon!


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